Fla. grandma missing since December found dead in car in canal after water levels lowered for Irma preparation

A Florida grandmother who had been missing since December was found dead in her vehicle on Saturday as residents braced for Hurricane Irma.

The body of Loraine "Lori" Feliciano-Pino was spotted in a Palm Beach County canal in Boca Raton, giving closure to the family.

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The vehicle became uncovered as a result of the county lowering the water levels in preparation for Hurricane Irma's landfall, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said.

The sheriff's office did not confirm the identity of the body found in the vehicle, but loved ones told the Sun Sentinel and the Palm Beach Post that it was Feliciano-Pino in the car.

Loraine "Lori" Feliciano-Pino had been missing since December. (Handout)

"I feel like years would have went by if it weren't for something horrible like the hurricane to happen because we would never have found her," sister Rosannie Feliciano told The Palm Beach Post.

Feliciano-Pino, who was 47, was last seen leaving her home on Dec. 19. "That was pretty close to her home," her sister told the Sun Sentinel. "I always had a feeling that she would be in there."

Rosannie Feliciano said she did not understand why investigators did not search the canal earlier. They were instead looking for her in the Loxahatchee Canal, according to the Sun Sentinel.

"I was initially completely shocked, then was very angry," she told the Palm Beach Post. "I can't tell you how many times I said (to detectives) can we please check this canal because it was close to where she lived."